What do formulators want?
In late 2025, Eastman surveyed 150 R & D professionals at CPG and FMCG companies who were involved in the selection of ingredients or ingredient suppliers for skin care formulations in North America, Europe and Asia.
One very clear finding was that sustainability“ has moved from aspiration to expectation”, driven from both ends. 75 % said that customer and retailer demands are steering teams toward sustainable ingredients. while 73 % found that corporate sustainability targets are shaping which materials make the cut. Half of them had conducted a formal sustainability review on a skin care project in the past year.
That said, current options are not keeping pace with what formulators want.“ Across regions, importance outnumbers satisfaction by roughly 30 – 40 points- clear evidence of an unmet need. Teams are embedding sustainability into everyday decisions, yet few offerings meet the bar in practice, creating friction: longer evaluations, more trade-offs and projects that stall when criteria aren’ t met”.
When asked which sustainability attributes matter most in their developments, 59 % of formulators said‘ microplastic-free’, followed by‘ biodegradable’( 47 %). Others were‘ third party approved’( 41 %),‘ cruelty-free / vegan’( 38 %),‘ responsible sourcing’( 31 %) and‘ safe toxicological profile’( 29 %).
Nearly half of formulators expect biodegradability to be common in their region within two to five years, while hardly any believe it will remain niche.“ That expectation is fuelling practical preparation: teams are documenting evidence, aligning test methods and definitions, and evaluating how biodegradable options fit into existing formulations and workflows,” Eastman said such varied sources as eucalyptus leaves, algae, moringa seedcake, broccoli seed oil, edelweiss flowers and much more. Many were sourced from upcycled materials, such as Access Naturals’ botanical extracts from citrus waste, Ecoshell’ s scrubs from powdered walnut shells, Julius Hoesch’ s ingredients from stone fruit kernels and peelings and Oleon’ s regenerative agricultural glycerine from oilseed.
Most also specifically claimed to match or exceed the performance of benchmark products derived from petrochemicals. Other common key claims included lower carbon footprints, ready biodegradability, manufacturing with renewable energy, reduced greenhouse gas( GHG) emissions and circular economy targets, solvent-free extraction methods, and reduced water and energy consumption. Some manufacturers had measured these using third-party lifecycle analysis( LCA).
For instance, Givaudan’ s new Primal Hyal 50 Life is a hyaluronic acid( HA) molecule made by means of precision fermentation to be more sustainable. The company stated that a LCA showed it to have a 99 %
Dow showed multiple formulations incorporating its newly launched products
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